Schools across the country are distributing yearbooks now and some parents of students at a St. Louis, Missouri, high school are not happy with what they saw inside. It’s two sections in the Kirkwood High School Pioneer yearbook that are raising concerns: one about “hookups,” and another about smoking and drinking. After images were shared on social media, many moms and dads, as well as members of the community say the content is inappropriate for teens and question who approved it.
- The “hookups” spread reads, “Students share their opinions on hook-up culture, the concept of a casual sexual relationship without labels, and its benefits and consequences.”
- The pages have images including pregnancy tests, birth control, a bra and Plan B, along with students’ responses to the question, “What is the weirdest place you’ve hooked up?”
- But it wasn’t just sex that upset parents. They were also outraged over a section about drugs and alcohol, including a student poll about which of the two they prefer, even though both are illegal in Missouri for anyone under 21.
But not all parents disagree with what was in the yearbook. Kim Prevallet Schamel, a pediatrician and associate professor of pediatrics at Washington University and a Kirkwood High School parent, doesn’t think the content is inappropriate, instead she sees it as a way to start a conversation about these issues with her teens. In a since-deleted Facebook post about the yearbook, she shared her opinions, but she took it down after receiving nasty messages and threats from strangers.
- The Kirkwood School District stands behind its student-led yearbook committee. “Kirkwood High School has a longstanding tradition of allowing student media to be designated public forums,” they explain in a statement. “As school officials do not engage in prior review, the content is determined by and reflects only the views of the student staff and not school officials of the school itself.”
Source: Cafe Mom
Scott's thoughts:
- Yearbooks sure have changed since I was in high school!
- I am not a prude, but this seems too much. Even if it was only for the seniors.
- For my yearbook I was only concerned about my parents seeing what some of my friends actually WROTE in my yearbook!!